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Italian Scientists Put Robot Spiders In Your Colon

Sockatume writes "Scientists in Italy have developed a robot which will move around the lower digestive tract using legs. The 'Spider-Pill' is fitted with a camera and will stow its legs until it reaches the lower intestine. Once there it can crawl around and take pictures under direction from surgeons. Its USP is that it's more appealing than an endoscopy." The BBC also has video.

203 comments

  1. Google's spiders crawling by sopssa · · Score: 4, Funny

    In other news, Google is working on it's own version to integrate Googlebot to crawl more data into Google Maps. Soon you can zoom into a person you saw on the street and navigate inside her.

    1. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine putting a few hundreds of those in your ass and let them wiggle around.

    2. Re:Google's spiders crawling by mewt · · Score: 0

      Sounds like a government scheme to put bugs on us! they will be able to track us and check what food we're eating! I'd be careful of any largish sweets you eat! The man is watching :( *Puts on Tinfoil Hat*

    3. Re:Google's spiders crawling by clickclickdrone · · Score: 2, Funny

      >Googlebot
      Googlebutt, surely?

      --
      I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
    4. Re:Google's spiders crawling by logjon · · Score: 1

      Sounds like last weekend tbh.

      --
      The stories and info posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
      Only fools would take it as fact.
    5. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Enleth · · Score: 2, Funny

      They already have Google Moon, the rest of the solar system is just an obvious extension of the service. I'm not sure however why exactly they started with Uranus...

      --
      This is Slashdot. Common sense is futile. You will be modded down.
    6. Re:Google's spiders crawling by sakdoctor · · Score: 5, Funny

      I knew that robots.txt I had tattooed on my ass would come in handy.

      User-agent: *
      Disallow: /

    7. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      Just watch out for the Russians ... you know how they ignore robots.txt files.

    8. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other news, Google is working on it's own version to integrate Googlebot to crawl more data into Google Maps. Soon you can zoom into a person you saw on the street and navigate inside her.

      Your comment is so anal ...

    9. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      robots.txt anyone?

    10. Re:Google's spiders crawling by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      It is a logical progression. Two state-of-the art probes have already explored Jupiter and Saturn, namely Galileo and Cassini, so now it is time to send a long-term robotic probe to Uranus.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    11. Re:Google's spiders crawling by machine321 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I, for one, welcome our...

      Wait, no. Ew.

    12. Re:Google's spiders crawling by djdevon3 · · Score: 1

      lol excellent post sopssa

    13. Re:Google's spiders crawling by djdevon3 · · Score: 1

      In that case new overlords != old overlords

    14. Re:Google's spiders crawling by theolein · · Score: 1

      So they're going from a back rub to a butt rob?

    15. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > navigate inside her

      Moar like SINGLE entendre amirite.

    16. Re:Google's spiders crawling by mhajicek · · Score: 1

      Innerlords?

    17. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      Just in case someone forgot the reference, South Park had an episode where Mr Garrison's 'friend' had a gerbil shoved up his arse.
      Evidently he thought it quite pleasurable.....

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
    18. Re:Google's spiders crawling by fractoid · · Score: 1

      The video of the probe in the intestine, and the 'pill cam' he holds up at 1:25 in the video, remind me waaaay too much of the 'bug' in The Matrix.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    19. Re:Google's spiders crawling by Mrs+Gupta · · Score: 1

      ( *Puts on Tinfoil Hat* )

      Fuk the tinfoil hat!

      I'm putting on that stainless-steel mesh underwear that my ex-girlfriend gave to me!

  2. Yea but by weirdcrashingnoises · · Score: 2, Funny

    In Soviet Russia, robot spiders put your colon in scientists!

    --
    sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
    1. Re:Yea but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Q:What did Scientist B say to Scientist A when he accidentally piloted the robot spiders into the intestinal wall?

      A: You wrecked em!

    2. Re:Yea but by b4dc0d3r · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wrecked 'im? Damn near killed 'im.

    3. Re:Yea but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still better than an Italian scientist in my colon I guess.

  3. Call it Ziggy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    - as in Mr Z Stardust and the spiders from arse

    1. Re:Call it Ziggy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spiderpill Spiderpill..
      Goes where ever a spiderpill goes!

    2. Re:Call it Ziggy by Nerdfest · · Score: 1

      Ziggy Stardust and the spiders from Uranus.

  4. Proofreading? by logjon · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Really, slashdot?

    --
    The stories and info posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
    Only fools would take it as fact.
  5. So before we start getting nano-robotic overlords by areusche · · Score: 1

    What is a USP? Come on guys I normally am able to get most of these acronyms, but this is too much.

  6. Just Sayin... by jacks0n · · Score: 4, Funny

    The goatse guy would almost be ontopic.

    1. Re:Just Sayin... by RivenAleem · · Score: 0

      One Guy, One Jar ... of Spiders.

    2. Re:Just Sayin... by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 1

      Do spiders make as big a mess as gerbils when things go wrong?

    3. Re:Just Sayin... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh hell, they could send conventional robots up that guy's gaping pooshaft.

    4. Re:Just Sayin... by Elbowgeek · · Score: 1

      Hell the goatse guy could fit a Dalek up there...

      --
      Who is this delectable creature with an insatiable love of the dead?
  7. Obligatory Matrix reference by Brewmeister_Z · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why do I get visions of doctors that look like FBI agents inserting this device into me via my belly button?

    --
    I Cater to the Needs of Stupid People. - from a coffee mug Christmas gift
    1. Re:Obligatory Matrix reference by shawb · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I'll take your Obligatory Matrix Reference and follow it up with an Obligatory XKCD HREF

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
  8. Re:So before we start getting nano-robotic overlor by Canazza · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Universal Serial Puss?

    --
    It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
  9. What exactly? by clickclickdrone · · Score: 2, Informative

    >Scientists in Italy have developed which will move around the lower digestive tract using legs.
    Have developed what? Developed which?

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
    1. Re:What exactly? by logjon · · Score: 1

      Developed which will!

      --
      The stories and info posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
      Only fools would take it as fact.
    2. Re:What exactly? by Zarniwoop · · Score: 1

      Indeed, and Italian will never be the same. Hooray for language!

      --
      Still not dead.
    3. Re:What exactly? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      What's so hard to understand?

      We have developed which will accidentally your colon.

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    4. Re:What exactly? by WizzardX · · Score: 1

      Better than "Scientists in Italy have developed a robot which will accidentally the whole lower digestive tract using legs", at least.

    5. Re:What exactly? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      for those that don't get it:
      'Scientists in Italy' is the subject, so the sentence says:

      Scientists in Italy have developed [which] will move around the lower digestive tract using legs.

      Scientists in Italy have developed; [These scientists] will move around the lower digestive tract using legs.

    6. Re:What exactly? by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      You grammar Nazis and your missing commas. Fine, it should be: "Scientists in Italy have developed, which will move around the lower digestive tract using legs."

      That doesn't really change the meaning, or the news, which is that apparently Italy has developed scientists. I guess the Italians found the large intestine so intriguing that they're placing their scientists inside of it to take pictures and report on their findings, and already they've discovered a new species of spider.

  10. Oh boy! by DurendalMac · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do they bark?

  11. and in related news.... by NiteShaed · · Score: 4, Funny

    Italy has leapfrogged ahead of both Germany and Japan in the quest for making the weirdest adult films.....

    --
    Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
    1. Re:and in related news.... by ciaohound · · Score: 4, Informative

      Ever seen "Wild, Wild Planet", a.k.a. "I criminali della gallassia"? The Italians have had this distinction since at least 1965.

      --
      Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
    2. Re:and in related news.... by Rashdot · · Score: 1

      Please don't mention frogs in this topic.

      --
      This is not the sig you're looking for.
    3. Re:and in related news.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the BBC has broadcast "internal" video footage of a couple having sex/orgasm this year. Late at night. Probably not in the USA.

    4. Re:and in related news.... by fan+of+lem · · Score: 1

      Or Salo, for that matter.

    5. Re:and in related news.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ermmm... Penis cam?

  12. USP? by clickclickdrone · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >more appealing that an endoscopy
    Given a choice between a cable that's tethered to the outside world and a robot spider scuttling around inside my butt, I'd say the former was a win.

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
    1. Re:USP? by Kokuyo · · Score: 0, Troll

      Well, now this is a chance to save all those homophobes, too. On the other hand, that also makes me question how this is supposed to be better ;).

    2. Re:USP? by Nerdfest · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can see it now: "SIr, the exploratory spider we put in you has gone rogue. We now need to release this larger hunter/killer spider to take it out (shows golf ball sized robot spider). God help us if this one goes nuts".

    3. Re:USP? by nedlohs · · Score: 2, Insightful

      More "God help you" I think.

    4. Re:USP? by arthurpaliden · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Then like my attending nurse who said I would only feel a slight discomfort, you have never had one.

    5. Re:USP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Nah. "Release the raisin bran!"

    6. Re:USP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not in the USa.

    7. Re:USP? by snspdaarf · · Score: 1

      Given a choice between a cable that's tethered to the outside world and a robot spider scuttling around inside my butt, I'd say the former was a win.

      No kidding. I've seen "Runaway."

      --
      Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
    8. Re:USP? by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

      I've seen "Runaway."

      A post that ties together Gene Simmons and butt spiders. Awesome!

    9. Re:USP? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      Golf ball size is no problem. Your turds can be wider than that.

      When they start with the orange sized though... imagine them showing you the camera image on a screen. It's like "goatseing" yourself! ^^

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    10. Re:USP? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      In Goatse town, SHE will feel a slight discomfort, when she notices that it arouses him. :P

      Ok, not only in Goatse town. O:->

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    11. Re:USP? by aliquis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Seriously, I hate those suckers.

      For whatever reason I may had developed "anal abscess" which is like a pimple in/outside your butt (mine was outside.)

      Anyway before cutting it open they want to investigate that it haven't spread so they feel around with their finger.

      But the thing is that at the first place the nurse was really hot, and well, it didn't hurt that much.

      Anyway I had to go to the emergency ward to have it cut open and there was a male doctor over there instead and well, one would assume those would be somewhat experienced and know how to make it as gentle as possible but no, he more or less just told me to relax (without giving me enough time to think about how to do that ...) and thrusted his finger in there.

      And well, that wasn't so nice and hurt a little.

      Later I was thinking about why they where so harsh and then I thought to myself that probably it was just because so many men are homophobes and don't want people poking around their anus aka "foreplay" because it makes them feel uncomfortable but wtf.

      Retarded. Be gentle to my anus :(

      I wouldn't ask him for a date even if he had been gentle, the nurse however ... I was thinking about going back there with some flowers ..

    12. Re:USP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyway I had to go to the emergency ward to have it cut open and there was a male doctor over there instead and well, one would assume those would be somewhat experienced and know how to make it as gentle as possible but no, he more or less just told me to relax (without giving me enough time to think about how to do that ...) and thrusted his finger in there.

      I bet you didn't even get a dinner and a movie out of the deal.

    13. Re:USP? by Kokuyo · · Score: 0, Troll

      Sounds like a similar problem many women report with female gynaecologists.

    14. Re:USP? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      And unsurprisingly Italy isn't in the USA.

    15. Re:USP? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      The question wasn't answered. I had to look it up, as I had never seen the term before. "USP" I think is "unique selling proposition", or in other words "why the hell should I buy this?"

    16. Re:USP? by Tyler+Durden · · Score: 1

      I'm guessing you had a sigmoidoscopy and not a colonoscopy? Because the colonoscopy is a more extensive procedure, right beforehand they inject you with The Most Amazing Drugs Known To Man. It's almost worth the prep work you have to go through beforehand.

      --
      Happy people make bad consumers.
    17. Re:USP? by arthurpaliden · · Score: 1

      Not "back in the day" they didn't.

    18. Re:USP? by Tyler+Durden · · Score: 1

      Yowch! Judging by how my sigmoidoscopi felt without drugs I can only imagine how the colonoscopy sans chemical assistance must have felt.

      Sorry dude.

      --
      Happy people make bad consumers.
  13. Robot spiders? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In my colon?

    1. Re:Robot spiders? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's more likely then you think!

    2. Re:Robot spiders? by Mad-Bassist · · Score: 1

      All hail the Robotic Colon Spider Overlords!

      --
      "The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games." - Eugene Jarvis
  14. downside/upside by lee+n.+field · · Score: 1

    The downside is you'd still have to drink the foul Kool-aid that cleans you out. The upside is (I assume) the patient doesn't need to be sedated, and doesn't need to take the rest of the day off to recover from sedation, have a driver, etc.

  15. Inspired by the meme! by snarfies · · Score: 1, Funny

    Robot spiders? In MY colon?
    It's more likely than you think.

    1. Re:Inspired by the meme! by 4D6963 · · Score: 0, Troll

      Uninspired used of a meme? In MY Slashdot?
      It's less funny than you think.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    2. Re:Inspired by the meme! by kilfarsnar · · Score: 1

      What What?

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  16. But... (or butt) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...it's more appealing that an endoscopy."

    Is it more appealing than a gerbil?

  17. Re:So before we start getting nano-robotic overlor by iYk6 · · Score: 5, Informative

    It stands for unique selling proposition. I would like to point out that "more appealing that an endoscopy" is not unique at all.

  18. Will it the entire digestive tract? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will it the entire digestive tract?

    1. Re:Will it the entire digestive tract? by Sockatume · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't me, I my sentences have subjects. I don't verbs though.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    2. Re:Will it the entire digestive tract? by LordKronos · · Score: 1

      Don't look now, but there's still a few verbs in there.

    3. Re:Will it the entire digestive tract? by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      You didn't what my verb.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    4. Re:Will it the entire digestive tract? by babywhiz · · Score: 1

      I just Steven Hill

    5. Re:Will it the entire digestive tract? by treeves · · Score: 1

      Blew? damn lameness filter..When the video runs, actual sample information, which (for this type of sample) has a regular appearance and changes only slowly from frame to frame, can be distinguished from noise, which varies rapidly and randomly with both position and time. The sample information is seen to continue out to substantially higher spatial frequencies in the TIRF-SIM data set compared to the conventional data....damn lameness filter...why why why.... Slashdot requires you to wait between each successful posting of a comment to allow everyone a fair chance at posting a comment. It's been 1 hour, 3 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment.

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      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
  19. There was an old woman who swallowed.... by davidwr · · Score: 4, Funny

    She swallowed the robo-spider to swallow the robo-fly, I don't know why, she swallowed the robo-fly, maybe she'll die.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:There was an old woman who swallowed.... by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      Well, if it did get stuck or go out of control she might have to swallow a pig to get it shifted. Ouch...

    2. Re:There was an old woman who swallowed.... by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 1

      If women had any sense, they'd rather prefer to swallow a banana than a spider...

    3. Re:There was an old woman who swallowed.... by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

      perhaps, perhaps! :(

  20. Scientists in my lower digestive tract? by aitikin · · Score: 0, Troll

    Scientists in Italy have developed which will move around the lower digestive tract using legs.

    Wow, two news stories in one. First, Scientists in Italy have developed. Who would've thunk it. And apparently they're moving around the lower digestive tract. Using legs noless!

    --
    "Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
  21. This article.. by GrBear · · Score: 4, Funny

    This article is worthless without pictu... er, nevermind. *shudder*

  22. NO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Robots walking up and down my ass? Hell no.

    1. Re:NO! by Whiteox · · Score: 0, Troll

      Asstroboy?

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
  23. Better than gerbils I suppose... by xgr3gx · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Unless you like that kind of thing - with the small rodents.

    --
    Shameless plug alert: Game server control panel
  24. Far superior to the Barium Enema by Gravis187 · · Score: 1

    I don't care if this thing takes makes a home in my lower guts. Any procedure is superior to the barium enema.

    1. Re:Far superior to the Barium Enema by catman · · Score: 1

      ... and someday, it will be able to excise growths in the pre-cancer stage. My two brothers have been cured of colonic cancer, maybe it's my turn next.

  25. OMG! by brian0918 · · Score: 1

    Scientists...will move around the lower digestive tract using legs

    That sounds quite painful!

  26. They Crawled from Uranus by 4D6963 · · Score: 1

    Spiders in your colon? If there's one thing GTA San Andreas taught me, it's what to do when they crawl from Uranus.

    --
    You just got troll'd!
  27. Woo by grub · · Score: 1


    Hope the gerbil doesn't attack it.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  28. Erm... by kazade84 · · Score: 1

    From the video page: "The 'spider pill', which is fitted with a camera, is swallowed by the patient and once within the colon or intestine the legs are opened."

    The spider's legs or the patient's legs?

    I'm hoping the former, otherwise there is a whole new door just opened in the practical joke market...

  29. I hope the legs retract by OglinTatas · · Score: 4, Funny

    before "exiting the body naturally."

    Speaking of which, what is the natural way colon spiders exit the body? Don't they lay their eggs in there and the spiderlings eat their way out through the abdominal wall? I guess leg retraction isn't high on the agenda in that case.

    1. Re:I hope the legs retract by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      They don't. FTFA:

      "When PoopBot has finished its tasks, it then begins spinning its legs at 20,000 rpm and exits the anus at a velocity of 200 feet per second. The patient is then issued a week's supply of official Obama Tuck's medicated wipes and sent home."

    2. Re:I hope the legs retract by Mad-Bassist · · Score: 1

      As long as they don't try to attract it with a cigarette lighter!

      --
      "The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games." - Eugene Jarvis
    3. Re:I hope the legs retract by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fry: Are you crazy? I can't swallow that.
      Professor Farnsworth: Well, then good news! It's a suppository.

  30. Umm... no. by fredjh · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Italian Scientists Put Robot Spiders In Your Colon"

    Oh no they don't.

    --
    Stupid, sexy Flanders.
    1. Re:Umm... no. by Rashdot · · Score: 1

      They will make you an offer you can't refuse.

      --
      This is not the sig you're looking for.
  31. I cannot be the only one... by Starayo · · Score: 1

    ...who silently screamed on reading that headline.

    I'm pretty sure I've had that nightmare before.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
    1. Re:I cannot be the only one... by icebrain · · Score: 1

      I showed it to my wife (who is highly arachnophobic)... she won't speak to me now

      --
      The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
  32. analysing the film by anarche · · Score: 1

    the robot is crawling around with cameras? are they transmitting or does someone have to clean the robot?

    --
    Wait! Whats a sig?
  33. What's wrong with a regular camera pill? by hort_wort · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There already exists a camera pill you can swallow that remotely sends information to a belt you wear for the day. You don't have to stay in the office, and the doctors don't have to waste their time controlling anything. They just watch the movie later in fast forward with some popcorn.

    Is there *any* reason that a doctor would need control over this thing? It can't even get biopsies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the only directions forward and back? Why don't they just just improve the camera they already have to last longer and transmit pictures at a higher rate?

    Am I the only one imagines this?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ypZSJ2_RDY

    1. Re:What's wrong with a regular camera pill? by cowboy76Spain · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I suppose they may need some control to get better defined images... camera pills may be good if what you have is easy to identify and big enough that the camera will focus on it no matter its orientation (remember, things move in there), but I bet in many cases a doctor will benefit of more insight that knowing that "there is a lump of different color there". Also may help with locating the exact piece of tissue they are looking at (remember, there are no road signs in there).

      --
      Why can't /. have a rich-text editor? Editing your own HTML is so XXth century.
  34. Re:Italian Intelligence and European IQ by clickclickdrone · · Score: 2, Insightful

    >A mirror question is, "Why have the Africans accomplished so little?"
    Read "Guns Germs and Steel". It's not the answer you're hoping for.

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  35. Awesome Mental Image by AioKits · · Score: 1

    Finally, something to replace the clown in my nightmares! Sometimes I just love the article titles on /.

    --
    "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
    1. Re:Awesome Mental Image by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, the clown died in jail when a fat jail guard sat on him after he was arrested for child pornography and sex tourism. Details at the link.

      Some clowns really ARE scary -- this guy was. He'd been a cop, a preacher, and a child care worker (among other scary things).

  36. !Proofread by kheldan · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Doesn't anybody proofread these articles before they're posted on the front page?

    Scientists in Italy have developed which will move around the lower digestive tract using legs.

    Did they accidentally the whole thing, too?

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  37. it crawls around for a while by ILongForDarkness · · Score: 1

    then grows. In a few hours it bursts from your chest, then the fun begins.

    1. Re:it crawls around for a while by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ode to Alien on 30th anniversary

      The worm crawls in, the worm claws out,
      The thing bursts through and we all scream and shout. ....
      ah forget it. I'll save this for Halloween

  38. Missing post? by cowboy76Spain · · Score: 1

    Maybe I am a little aprensive, but I would have tagged that with "whatcouldpossiblygowrong".

    --
    Why can't /. have a rich-text editor? Editing your own HTML is so XXth century.
  39. bend over and take it like a man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given a choice between an endoscopy and exploratory surgery with a rusty spoon (or for that matter, with sterile modern instruments), I'll take the endoscopy, thanks. I'm not gay, but I'm not afraid of my anus, either.

    1. Re:bend over and take it like a man by swilde23 · · Score: 2, Informative

      People who are opposed to endoscopy need to find a new gastroenterologist who is familiar with medications like demerol/versed or propofol. Seriously, I have had a couple dozen scopes in my life (colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatographies... i.e. ERCPs) and the worst part of all of them was the preparation before hand. I'm not a large guy and I have some digestion issues, so fasting and "prepping" for 24 hours before hand makes me pretty miserable. The actual scope is pretty relaxing comparatively speaking...

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
    2. Re:bend over and take it like a man by rdwulfe · · Score: 1

      I've had one colonoscopy. I cannot say it was the most pleasant experience I've ever had. Certainly less difficult than my gall bladder... But I cannot say the entire experience was good, at all. FIRST you have the whole prep thing, which is uncomfortable in the extreme. Then you get to have two guys behind you with what, I swear, was a ten foot long cord of disturbing thickness that they intend to make wander around your lower extremities for I believe to be around a half hour, commenting on your insides and attempting to chatter in a 'calming' manner with you. Relaxing it wasn't.

    3. Re:bend over and take it like a man by swilde23 · · Score: 1

      This is exactly the kind of experience that I have NOT had, and what I am trying to enforce shouldn't be the norm these days. Perhaps I am delusional though. Every single procedure that I have had done, I can't remember a thing past the point where the doctor said "ok, I've given you some . You're going to feel a little tired". I wake up later in a recovery room.

      Perhaps I am not the normal case, but I just have trouble believing that multiple doctors performing similar procedures would end up with exactly the same result (me not remembering any of the scope).

      However, I will not argue about the prep being terrible.

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand this sig, and those that beat up people who do.
  40. Mr Berlusconi... by feanor981 · · Score: 1

    ...could find one or two alternative uses for it... :-)

  41. I, for one, by JoshDM · · Score: 5, Informative

    welco... Aaaah! Aaaah! GET IT OUT!

    1. Re:I, for one, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords." -Richard Gere /sorry

  42. So glad to see this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As a receiver of Endoscopy, i would gladly accept some spiders down my throat instead.
    Oh god.. the horrors of the camera up the butt...

  43. Itallian Scientists? Robot Spiders? In my what? by Jeffrey_Walsh+VA · · Score: 1

    From the headline I really thought it was a feed from The Register.

  44. Fantastic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One of the best headers I've ever seen on /. - made me think I'd gone to the Onion by mistake.

  45. What great timing :-| by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm going in for an endoscopy this week. Maybe it'll be my last?

  46. "You're going to help us, Mr Anderson... by petrus4 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...whether you want to, or not."

  47. Mod parent up by petrus4 · · Score: 1

    If I had points, I'd give you +1, Funny. ;)

    1. Re:Mod parent up by JoshDM · · Score: 4, Informative

      "If I had points, I'd give you +1, Funny. ;)"

      I was hoping for +1 Informative.

  48. It's more likely than you think. by xatm092 · · Score: 1

    How do they fit?

    1. Re:It's more likely than you think. by aitikin · · Score: 1

      Well, as you obviously do not realize, that tract is rather large. Plus the scientists are exceptionally small.

      --
      "Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
  49. Shit eating grin by hexarobi · · Score: 1

    So presumably this would be quite an expensive device, the kind that would have to be used more than once to be cost effective. So patients would be expected to swallow a pill that other patients have pooped out before... Awesome!

    1. Re:Shit eating grin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So patients would be expected to swallow a pill that other patients have pooped out before

      They have ways around that like using disposable outer shells and things like that.

      Also, when you goto the dentist, most of everything has been in someone else's mouth before. They just sterilize it.

  50. No big thing... by rickb928 · · Score: 1

    In the absence of any further evidence, think of it as an innuendo... :)

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  51. I guess that answers the question... by mdwstmusik · · Score: 1

    who put that bug up the boss's ass

    --
    "Oh, what sad times these are when passing ruffians can say 'ni' to helpless old ladies."
  52. Hoo, hum... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So this is some kind of anal probe?

  53. Re:Italian flavor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Och aye, the Scottish robo-spider, deep fried in batter.

  54. Wow... by asweetbluesky · · Score: 1, Troll

    ... are there are really any scientists left working here in Italy?! I thought every smart brain went abroad long time ago, just before this country became the proud banana's republic of Europe thanks to its politicians. This ought to be the news headline IMO.

  55. The worst part by AlpineR · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yeah, I think you'd still have to fast and purge with whatever unpleasant substance the colorectal surgeon chooses to torture you with. The actual colonoscopy isn't painful or anything since you're sedated, it's just a hassle needing a ride home and a break from mental responsibilities.

    But wouldn't you also have to stick around a doctor's office while you wait for the robot to get into position? Or would the robot be controlled really remotely, like by a technician in India while you're walking around the grocery store? And wouldn't you have to restrict your diet while you waited for the robot to pass? And wouldn't you have to collect the robot for return/disposal after you've both done your business?

    1. Re:The worst part by mednerd · · Score: 1

      I think the worst part is - what if it gets stuck. Those legs look like they could catch on stuff (e.g. ducts, pasts scars/stitches), and if it lost power with the legs fully extended it would certainly be a bumpy ride out of there to say the least. That said I do think the pill cam has the potential to be a good alternative to have a colonoscopy.

  56. The Island by KneelBeforeZod · · Score: 1

    Do they crawl out of your pee hole like in the movie The Island?

  57. Transcript of first excursion by RevWaldo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Doctor: ROBOSPIDER YOU SHOULD BE IN THE COLON NOW. WHAT DO YOU SEE?
    Robospider: IT'S SO DAMN DARK IN HERE I CAN'T SEE MY CLAW BEFORE MY FACE. HANG ON A SEC. LET ME GET MY LIGHTER.
    Doctor: OK. WHAT? LIGHTER? NO DON'T
    (SIGNAL LOST.)

    1. Re:Transcript of first excursion by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 1

      hahahaha of all the days to not have mod points :/

    2. Re:Transcript of first excursion by Desiderius · · Score: 5, Funny

      I wrote one like that in high school:

      A team of tiny tapeworms were trekking through a tract
      As was their creed and calling, the purpose of their pact
      When one among their numbers, who's eyes were not as strong
      Decided he would light a match, not knowing this was wrong.
      But the others saw the danger and screamed with tiny howls:
      "He will ignite the methane gas! EVACUATE THE BOWELS!"

    3. Re:Transcript of first excursion by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Could be worse. These could be mini-Wile E Coyotebots. Then they'll light their lighters and find, for some reason, that your colon is packed with Acme brand TNT... and that their light has just lit the fuses.... The good news is that you won't need to worry about colon cancer.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  58. Jeez, Bob. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What crawled up your ass and died?

  59. Your fears have come to an end by CrimsonScythe · · Score: 1

    I submit that the fear of these probes shall be called be arectumphobia.

    --
    The view was horrible and the smell was even worse; Julie severely regretted becoming a proctologist.
  60. This is very alarming... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Italian Scientists Put Robot Spiders In Your Colon

    When did they do this. how did they do this, and how does Slashdot know???

  61. When?!? by thered2001 · · Score: 1

    I presume these scientists put these spiders in while I was sleeping. Or are they responsible for the Alfa Romeo Spider in my garage? This might just be a big "Three's Company" misunderstanding!

    --

    If your only tool is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail.

  62. Gerbil with a headcam? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some newscaster in Mpls. did this in the early nineties, sans headcam.

  63. Reuse by DomNF15 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Are these things cheap enough to throw away? Cause I really don't want to swallow something that just came out of...well, you get the idea.

    1. Re:Reuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You want affordable health care for all, including non-citizens, and yet you don't want to swallow a pill that someone else shit out. I wish you fickle mush-heads would make up your mind instead of always chasing two diametrically-opposed goals and winding up with some half-assed piece of shit legislation cobbled together that everyone despises and then labeling it an accomplishment. Not only is the US expected to be the world's police and free grocery store, but now we have to be their fucking doctor, too.

    2. Re:Reuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever eaten a chocolate covered spider? They taste like chicken.

    3. Re:Reuse by jimmy_dean · · Score: 1

      hehe. Have you seen Idiocracy? 'Nuf said.

      --
      -> Sometimes, you just gotta break free from the shackles of proprietary code.
    4. Re:Reuse by madaerodog · · Score: 1

      that's some sick sheet (ee=i) ..

  64. Re:So before we start getting nano-robotic overlor by kalirion · · Score: 1

    Here you go. A strange choice for spider robots in the colon to be sure.

  65. I know an old lady... by asicsolutions · · Score: 1

    Now they just need some robotic flies for people to swallow to send the Spider after...

  66. However... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Soviet Russia, robot spiders put Italian scientists in your colon!

  67. The Itsy Bitsy Spider went... by NotOverHere · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...Up the water spout,
    Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
    Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
    Wave did the spider to the surprised proctologist,
    And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

  68. Re:So before we start getting nano-robotic overlor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Universal Serial Puss?

    Is that some kind of robot cat?

  69. Good news everybody! by tw45 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "This place used to be a big dump"

    --
    **When you're swimming in the creek, **and an eel bites your cheek, **that's a moray!
  70. 100% on topic: by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    photoshopped picture the goatse guy with robot spiders crawling out of his arse

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  71. tee hee hee by AP31R0N · · Score: 1

    That tickles!

    --
    Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
  72. Pass the Versed, Please! by FurtiveGlancer · · Score: 1
    I'm certain I wouldn't want any long term memory formation during that procedure either. *shudders uncontrollably*

    (cue Jim Stafford - I don't like spiders and snakes...)

    --
    Invenio via vel creo
  73. Spiders - Why'd it have to be spiders ... by abbynormal+brain · · Score: 0

    It sounds like a team trying to make a name for itself - especially when "virtual colonoscopy" is making such progress.

    If this spider method is for more intricate pre-surgical "scouting" - - then maybe it has a place. But if it's only at the stage of a general colonoscopy - then I think it's a case of: "yes we can ... but should we have?"

    --
    L'esperienza de questa dolce vita (The experience of this sweet life) - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
  74. Scariest Headline by Manfre · · Score: 1

    Hands down, that is the scariest headline I've ever seen here.

  75. Pill by Hatta · · Score: 1

    "I can't swallow that!"

    "Good news! It's a suppository!"

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  76. Transcript of second excursion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doctor: ROBOSPIDER TWO YOU SHOULD BE IN THE COLON NOW. WHAT DO YOU SEE?
    Robospider: IT IS PITCH BLACK. I AM LIKELY TO BE EATEN BY A GRUE.
    (SIGNAL LOST.)

  77. Getting stuck by stobbard · · Score: 1

    Can't it easily get stuck with those legs? They look big enough that the colon may get problems moving the spider out. What if a leg pierces the colon? I'm vaguely remembering some report about a similar device where they had to open up the pig to get it out again.

  78. Italian Pipes, Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dr Mario: Do you have the red crab-like probe ready?
    Dr Luigi: Now inserting into the patient's pipes.
    Dr Mario: I always knew we'd make good coin at this job, but who knew the tips would squeeze out like this?
    Dr Luigi: Those turtles were a surprise too.

  79. i like the wording by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From the video

    " when the inspection is done, the robot exits the body naturally"

    In other words..

    Hey look everybody! I JUST SHIT A ROBOT!!!

  80. I don't like spiders and snakes... by Bill_the_Engineer · · Score: 1

    As the old song goes "I don't like spiders and snakes..." but I do what it takes to not die of colon cancer...

    --
    These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
  81. You expect me to click that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously, do you expect me to click that "video" link of spiders crawling in someone's colon. Even the goatse.cx link was more clever than that!

  82. That wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her by jason.sweet · · Score: 1

    For the record, you send a robotic bird after the robotic spider.
    Now I'm going to have that freaking song in my head for the rest of the day.

    1. Re:That wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her by Arancaytar · · Score: 1

      Glad I didn't have to quote it after all. I was just about to look up the lyrics. :P

  83. Re:So before we start getting nano-robotic overlor by JazzyJ · · Score: 1

    Unique or not it sure is a damn sight more appealing than an endoscopy... :)

  84. Now what's down in the sewers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My God, once enough of these get into the sewers of NYC, they can duke it out with the alligators for supremacy.

    Are we sure they didn't accidentally attribute the start of an unpublished Stephen King story to the Italians by accident?

  85. Politics by dnix · · Score: 1

    Usually it is somebody from government putting stuff in Italian's ass, for once that it is a scientist with a robot, Thanks God!

  86. As Mr Slave would say by reiley321 · · Score: 1

    Jesus chrrriiissttttt

  87. Minority Report by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

    Suddenly robot spiders that crawl around spying on your outsides doesn't seem quite so dystopian, now does it?

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  88. Isn't this inaccurate? by i_want_you_to_throw_ · · Score: 1

    Endoscopy is when the scope goes down your throat. Colonoscopy is when it goes into the colon, where the spiders from Mars are going.

    I wouldn't normally bring this up but /. accuracy nazis abound.

    1. Re:Isn't this inaccurate? by rseal · · Score: 1

      This distinction was true in the pre-Obama era. Soon you will stand in line for both an endoscopy and colonoscopy; one session, one tool. The results will be forwarded to your local IRS agent, who will provide you with a prognosis after you've validated your income level and records of your home heating/cooling costs. God bless the USA.

  89. Who would stick spider bots in a man's rectum... by csoto · · Score: 1

    and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach-around!

    --
    There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
  90. Yo, dawg! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yo dawg, I heard you like spiders, so we put some spiders in your colon so you can shriek while you poop!

  91. Watch the video! by olau · · Score: 1

    If you haven't already, watch the video. It's actually pretty cool.

    No rectum images, although they do illustrate a bad-ass looking device currently used for rectum investigations. Hint: it's like a big fat snake with lights in the end, and boy, can it wiggle.

  92. Spider Pill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Spider Pill, does whatever a Spider Pill does...

    Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.

  93. Re:Italian Intelligence and European IQ by sonicmerlin · · Score: 1

    Actually the Japanese IQ, and actually all Orientals` IQ, is higher than Europeans` and white people`s IQ. I hope that makes you feel better about yourself.

  94. And what's next ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Italian gynecologists invent robotic centipedes ?

  95. Re:Italian Intelligence and European IQ by tsalmark · · Score: 1

    That and the barren rock is rather lush and beautiful.

  96. Billy-Joe-Bob! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ah just got beamed up by ITALIANS!

  97. There Was An Old Woman by mcgrew · · Score: 1

    There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a spider,
    That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a bird,
    How absurd! to swallow a bird,
    She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a cat,
    Imagine that! to swallow a cat,
    She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a dog,
    What a hog! to swallow a dog,
    She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
    She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a goat,
    Just opened her throat! to swallow a goat,
    She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
    She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
    She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a cow,
    I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
    She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
    She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
    She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
    She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
    Perhaps she'll die.

    There was an old woman who swallowed a horse,
    She's dead--of course!

    (author unknown)

  98. Fantastic Voyage by greenjelly · · Score: 1

    Won't be long before Fantastic Voyage (1966) becomes a reality!